Improvement in breech-loading fsre-arms



Fig. 2 is a top view of the same.

Unrrhio diaries HENRY 'UNDERNVOOIL OF 'IGLLAND, CONNEGTlCUT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3&772, dated June 2, 1863.

' according to my invention, having one side of the stock removed to expose the lock to'vicw. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section in the line rv o: oi' Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal scction of the breech and chamber and a portion of the barrel. Fig. 5 is aninside view of the device for disengaging the dog which unlocks and rotates the breech.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to tire-arms having a singlechambered revolving cylinder, the axis `of Awhich is arranged in a horizontal position transverse to'the axis of the bore of the barrel; and it consists in certain means of combining the said cylinder with the hammer of the firearm, whereby the backward or upward movement oi'v the hammer to the position of half-cock brings the cylinder to the position for loading, and the continued movement to the full-cocked position brings the cylinder to the position for firing.

lt also consists in an improved arrangement of and mode ot operating a stop Yfor` locking the cylinder in position for firing, and for disengaging it to enable it to be brought to the position for loading; and it further consists in a devicey for discngaging the cylinder from the hammer whenever desirable. v

r1o enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, l will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

L is the frame of the arm, B, the barrel; C, the cylinder, iittedinto a cavity bored for its reception in the frame'A. rlhis cylinder has the chamber a bored through it diametrically, or at right angles to its axis, and the said .chamber is countersunk at each end for the the rear ends of reception of the ilanges on metallic cartridges, one of which is shown in Fig. 3, and indicated by the letter D. rIhe said cylinder hassolid journals `b b, one of 'the barrel.

which is received in a bearing in the right side oi' the frame A, and the other in arbearing in a side plate', E, which is screwed to thev frame.

On the right-hand end of the cylinder there are iormed or provided four ratchet-teeth, c c cl d, arranged at equal divisions of a circle concentric with the axis of the cylinder; but the two opposite teeth, c c, are arranged farther from the body of the cylinder: than the two intervening ones, d (l, so that the latter two can be operated by one tooth, e, of a dog,`

F, vand the `former two by another tooth, f, of the same dog, to produce a rotary motion of the cylinder, the said teeth c aadf being arranged sufiiciently out of line with each other to prevent f from operating en d d, and. prevent c `from operating on c c. At opposite points in the periphery of the cylinder. close to the right-end thereof, there are two square notches, g g, for the reception of the stop G,

oy which it is locked in position for iiringthat is to say, with the chamber opposite to and in line with the bore of the barrel.. -Directly over the axis of the cylinder there is provided in the frame A the opening h, for loading, and directly below its axis there is the opening i, for the expulsion of the disv charged cartridge-shells.

H is the hammer, having its tumbler made somewhat larger than usual, to obtain a sultrcient length of movement to the dog F, which is attached to it by a pivot, l. the ratchet-teeth c ed d constitute the means of combining the' cylinder with the hammer to enable the cylinder to be broughtV to the proper positions for loading and iiring, and it is held up to its work by a spring, q. The tooth f of the said dog also serves to act upon stop G for the,` purpose of unlocking the cylinder, preparatory to loading. The stop G is of a hammer-like form, and arranged to work upon a stationary pin, j, in rear ot' the cylinder, and its head 7c tits snugly into the notches Y y g of the cylinder. The part below the pin j is so arranged as to enable it to be operated upon by the tooth f of the dog F to produce.

the withdrawal ol' the head 7c from the notches Aj spring, mris applied to the stop to press it into the notches.

l will new describe the operations of loadI ing and iring, firstv supposing the halnnierto be down and the cylinder lockedl by the dog G, with its chamber in linewith the bore of By drawing back the hammer the This dog and I Iinder,

dog F is vmoved forward, and its tooth f at once comes in contact with the lower part of the dog G, and so acts upon it as to throw back the head llc and unlock the cylinder.` As soon as the cylinder is unlocked, the tooth e ofthe do'g comes in contact with one ofthe ratchetteeth d d and commences to turn the cylinder in the direction of the arrow shown in Figs'. l and 4, f producing a quarterrevolution` and bringing the chamber to a verticalposition by the time the h ammer arrivesfat a haltcock. The tooth .f'passes the stop and lets it escape when the cylinder has turned far. enough to prevent the head of the stop from re-entering the notch' g, and the spring m then presses the stop forward against the periphery of the cyl- Where it rests until again required to operate. The hammer is stopped at half-cock and thecartridge inserted through the hole h Y, of the frame and into the chamber, with the bullet downward, being prevented from dropping-through and stopped in the proper posi tion by the ilange at its rear end. By this act .of inserting the cartridge, if there were a discharged shellin the chamber it would be- .expelled through the hole i in .the bottom of the frame. After the insertion of the' cartridge,

vthe drawing back of the hammer to full-cock causes the .teeth e'and'f to produce by theirl acting upon the ratchet-teeth c d another quarter-revolution ofthe cylinder, bringing the chamber opposite to and in line with thebore ofthe barrel, and bringing the other notch g opposite to the head of the stop G, which then drops into vthesaid notch and locks the cyl-in-V der, which is now in condition for firing, the bullet being toward'the' barrel and the base of the cartridge opposite the solid metal n of the frame at the back of the cylinder, which constitutes the breech of the arm.

The firing is effected in the same m'anner as in other re-arm's, by the pulling ofthe trigger, and the hammer strikes through a slot, p, in' the frame upon the iiange of the cartridge in which the fulminate priming is contained. During the fall of the hammer the cylinder remains locked by the stop G, the tooth f being allowed to pass the lower part of the stop, and

lthe teeth c f being allowed to pass the teeth cy d by the yielding of the spring g under 'the dog as the latter-is drawn vback by the hammer.

' In the movement of the hammer from halfcock to full-cock the tooth f of the dog F does, not come into operation on the tooth c of the cylinder until the tooth e is about ceasing to operate on l'the tooth d. i

The object of having the ratchet-teeth c @and d d in different planes and the teeth ef in corresponding planes, instead of having them all arranged in the same planes, as in an ordinary ratchet-wheel and dog, is to provi-de forlet ting back the hammer to half-cock, in case, af-

` ter having cocked it, it is not desired to fire.

If the teeth were all in one plane, the letting down the hammer from full to half cock would cause the tooth e, in the accompanying back-j ward movement of the dog, to slip behind the tooth c, and on attempting to recock the said teethwould abut against each other and prevent the, forward movement of the dog, and thusy stop the hammer;` but by having the teeth indifferent planes, as hereinbefore described, the tooth slides on the backof the lower tooth, d, and cannot hence when the hammer is again cocked the -tooth e passes forward again without obstruc-l tion. i A v r is a pin fitted to kturn in a suitable hole providedV for its vreception in the plate E.

The inner end of this pin is bent to forma cam, r', and to the -outer end is attached a small lever, s, which is made iiexible in alateral direction. rIhe cam is so situated with respect to the dog F that by turning the said pin by means of the said lever the said cam may press down the said dog out of the way of the-ratchet c c d d and thestop G, and thereby disengage the Acylinder entirely from thev hammer. After the cylinder` has been loaded and brought, by cooking the hammer,

to a position for firing, the ldepression of the dog by this means allows the hammer to be let down and recocked as often as may be desired, without'disturbing the cylinder, which will remain locked by the stop G. The said lever may be secured either in position to hold the said pin i" and Yits cam out of the way of the dog F, as showny in Fig. 5toallow the said dog'to operate on the cylinder, as irst described, and as' represented in Fig. 5, or in position to keep the said dog disengaged from vthe cylinder by means of two, short fixed stop pins, u u, provided on the outside of the plate The` E, to entera hole,`v, in the said lever. leve'i` 'is disengaged from these pins by springing it aside from the plate, and when movedfrom one pin to the other its hole slips over that pin to which it has been movedpand so locks in 011e or the other position.

I do not claim, broadly, the use, in a iirearm, of a revolving cylinder having a single chamber arranged transversely to the axis of the cylinder; but

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, ism l l. Combining the' cylinder with the chain' ber by means ofthe ratehet-teethc c d d in the cylinder, arranged in different planes, and the dog F, attached to the hammer and having two teeth, ef, set in planes to correspond with the ratchet-teeth, ,substantially as and for the purpose set forth. l

2. The stop G, applied in combination with the cylinder C and dog tooth on the said dog, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. The cani r and lever s, applied in cornbination with the dog F, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified. n

i vHENRY UNDERVOOD.

lVitnesses:

GEO, D. HAsTINGs, I. H. WEsT.

by any possibility pass behind'e, as itis in a different plane, and

F, and operated by a 

